Sadlers1999

Meliss00, Ah, and the support group meeting dates at BOTH Sky Ridge and Parker Adventist fall on Thursday nights...usually the same ones, but it is a problem for me because I am a Cub Scout den leader and our pack meetings are once a month on Thursday and my den meetings are twice a month on Thursday (same general time as support group meetings). That's teh main reason I did not go to ANY support group meetings initially...pre-surgery and not till the third month after surgery. I think meeting informally at a different time would be appealing. I have made one friend on VSG who lives in Parker (like me). Big difference is that she had her surgery done in Florida and then moved to Colorado. She also doesn't have a car, but it's been nice being able to talk to her about our struggles.

Wow. I am three inches shorter and 150 and I know I am supposed to lose more weight based on surgeon goals, but I feel pretty darn good at 150. It sort of makes it a struggle to be motivated to do more than I do right now. Don't get me wrong, I am exercising and I am trying to eat small portions...mostly protein...BUT, I just don't feel like I need to run a marathon to get the last 10-20 off.

That's interesting that you have to find your own person to do the psych evaluation. At Parker Adventist, the psych evaluation is done on site. The person is part of the bariatric team. I can't give you any suggestions about how to find someone, because I didn't need to look. So sorry about that! BUt, otherwise, sounds like you are doing great! I lost 20 lbs in the 4 months prior to surgery, but 7 of those pounds came from the pre-surgery liquid diet.

Re: In-person Support Groups - I have only gone to support group meetings at Sky Ridge in Lone Tree...not every month, but 3-4 times this year. (I had surgery in late December 2012) This particular support group doesn't really do much for me. It seems like the main people who attend on a regular basis fit into two categories: people who HAVE NOT been sleeved/lap banded/bypassed and people who have had some sort of bariatric surgery but have had weight gain. There are almost no successful, POST OPERATIVE weight loss people to talk to. I don't find it as motivating, because it's almost like if people are not struggling post surgery (one year, two year, etc POST OP), they do not need the support group which kind of creates a vacuum. At the last meeting I went to, the only person there who had lost all her weight AND was maintaining for more than a couple of years spoke about being so regimented re: her cooking/eating, I just could not imagine that would be me. I have four kids under the age of 11...youngest is 3. This woman cooks all her food on Sunday and packs them in individual pre-portioned containers. I would need another refrigerator just to hold this much food, but more importantly, it just seemed kind of extreme...not a realistic way to live. But, I have very little to compare it to, because all the other post surgery people who are as far out from surgery as her have weight issues....Most of these weight issue people had lap bands and are struggling. If any of you have attended an in-person support group somewhere in the state, was it like this (as I describe) or did you find more successful, long timers in attendance?

How is your pre-surgery weight loss going? Have you weaned yourself off of caffeine and things that have bubbles? I don't feel like I did enough before surgery...except that I got off of caffeine and bubbles.

How are you doing? On this thread, you are one of the newest people to be sleeved to date and I know the first month is usually the hardest and then it slowly gets better (re: eating)...

How are you doing approximately 5 months post op?

My husband is 6 feet tall. He was "lanky" in his youth. His lowest weight at his adult height was 158. That was definitely too skinny. I believe that he thinks his ideal weight is 175-180. He is currently 190. (BTW, he has NOT had bariatric surgery...I had it...) Any way, I think you will know when you get there, what looks good on you. I really think a lot of it has to do with your build. My husband doesn't have broad shoulders. I guess he could work out his arms a lot and build up muscle mass there, but it's not who he is naturally.

I have hypothyroidism. I lost hair because of that and it never came back just because I was on thyroid medicine. Lost more hair with surgery and it is slowly coming back. I have never had really long hair, though, because of my thyroid problems. Hair length is not much different than it was prior to surgery. Looking at your picture, though, I would say you are very blessed with beautiful hair regardless of length.

I think at some point everyone needs to "re group." For some people, it hasn't happened,yet, but it might happen when they get to the weight that they want to maintain. For a lot of us, falling off the wagon is nothing new...and getting back on is nothing new, either. We just have to "just keep swimming."

I am in a rut. Went on vacation and considering the circumstances (cross country trip with 4 kids in a car and no other driver), I think I did well. Came back and being gone 2 weeks, suddenly my summer seemed "over" and trying to get things done, etc, etc. In any case, the point is that I lost my good routine. I was really doing about 10K steps/day on my fitbit and now I am flip flopping....ONe day I only do half that amount and the next I do 15K, so I am still averaging 10K steps/day, BUT on days when I don't do 10K or more steps, I find myself depressed and eating more. Today is an over 10K step day, so I am doing okay, but I am getting frustrated...And, the ability to eat really is coming back. BTW, I am 5'3 1/2" tall and about 150lbs. My personal goal was 140, but the doctors tell me that I need to get to 130, so I am still 20 lbs away from their goal....

I am down 90 lbs since last August. I was 242 at the end of July 2012. Lost 20 lbs by day of surgery in December. Since December, I've lost another 70...not as much as many, but I will say that I have been eating more normal food for a lot longer than most and I didn't have any complications with surgery....My personal goal is 12 lbs more, but my doctor wants me to lose 22 more lbs so I can get to 23% body fat. In my whole life, I have never been at 23% body fat, so we shall see...The other thing is that the surgery has really helped me to lose the weight, but like all weight loss programs/diets, the next phase is maintenance. Having gone to a support group at the local hospital, I know it IS possible to regain weight after so many years. So, the surgery is definitely a tool that can help us get started on the weight loss journey, but it's not going to be a "magic pill." We still have our work cut out for us.

I got a card, too. It looks like my surgeon's business card, but it has a special request saying that I have had surgery and I can't eat much. It gives a number to call if they have any questions. I would like to say that mostly I haven't had any reason to use it. I mostly explain that I have had surgery and the waitresses/waitors seem to take that at face value and never ask to see a card, etc. I went to one really fancy restaurant a few months ago and they didn't care that I shared with my husband. I think most eating places know that the servings are too big even for "skinny" people who don't need to diet.

My stats are nearly identical to yours. My spouse is not in military and I can't say that there is that sort of stress on me. Others report faster progress, but I think we are doing great and actually, our results are "normal.". Keep up the good work!